Australia

Geography
-the smallest,flattest, driest,least populated continent
-area of 7 692 300 km2
-23 million inhabitants
-because the large territories are too dry to live in
- In the east coast is much of Australias city life
-sheep and cattle farmers live on isolated farms called stations
-do not often go to towns
- contact by means of radio
-surrounded by Pacific and Indian Ocean
-the capital Canberra
-the seat of the Government and the Federal Parliament
-the Captain Cook Memorial Waterjet 134 metres high, Australian
National
University, Royal Australian mint, Australian War Memorial,
Australian National Gallery
-Sydney
the largest, oldest, the most beautiful and the most modern city
- the main port
- population 3,7 million people
- the Harbour Bridge
- famous Opera House designed by a Danish architect
-other cities
- Melbourne
- often called a Garden City thanks to its numerous parks
and gardens
- Perth
- an important industrial city
-Adelaide
-a lot of museums, galleries and parks
- two universities and a car-manufacturing factory
-Brisbane
-the third largest city
-currency Australian dollar
-deserts
-the Great Sandy Desert
- the Great Victoria Desert
- The Gipson Desert
- The Simpson Desert
-mountains
-Ayers Rock
-the largest piece of rock in the world
- 335m high
- the Australian Alps
-the highest mountain Mount Kosciusko

-Great Dividing Range -divides the west coast of eastern

Australia from the dry
lands in the centre
-Great barrier reef
-the longest coral reef in the world
-2000km along the coast of Queensland
-a chain of small islands and 2500 reefs
-water
-rivers Murray - Australias longest
- Darling
-lakes Eyre
- Torrens
- Gairdner
-different kinds of climate
-tropical in the north
- continental in the interior
- sub-tropical, temperate rest
-famous for its animals
-the kangaroo
- the koala (marsupials=vanatci)
-eucalyptus, solitary animal (=osamocen)
- the emu runs well but cannot fly
-the platypus it has a bill and webbed feet like a duck and lays
eggs, but it is a mammal
-flying squirrel
-Tasmanian devil
-language
-in Australian English a lot of words are made by shortening
-economy
-rich in iron ore, oil, natural gas, coal, gold, silver and other precious
metals
- the greatest producer of wool in the world
-the second biggest exporter of wheat
-beef, mutton, minerals
History
-discovered by the Dutch in the 17th century Abel tasman
-James Cook in 1770 landed in Botany Bay near Sydney
-settlement started on January 26,1788
-arrival of about 1000 colonists from Britain
-this day is now a public holiday
-those days there were about 300 000 Australian Aborigines
-originally lived as hunters using boomerangs and other
similar instruments
-Europeans persecuted the Aborigines
-now about 200 000 Aborigines live in reserves, but also in some cities
-colonists became farmers called squatters

-after becoming rich, employed migrant workers to work for them

Political system
-independent state within the British Commonwealth of Nations
-federal parlamentary constitutional monarchy
-the head is the British monarch represented by the Governor-General
- a federal state
-6 states and 2 territories
-Western Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South
Australia, Tasmania
-Tasmania is a large island which belongs to Australia
-Northern Territory, Australian Capital Territory
-each state has its own government
-political power
-executive the Government
-legislative Parliament
-judicial
-the Parliament
-House of representatives 150 members
- on the bssis of the population of
each state
- preferential votings
-presided by the Speaker
-Senate 76 senators
-Governor-Genreral
-represents the Queen
-dissolves the Parliament
-assent to laws
-represantative function
-appoints important persons
-opens a new session of the Commonwealth parliament
-parties
-Australian labour party
-Liberal party
-National Party
-flag
-a blue field with the British Union Jack in the upper left corner
-a white federal star
- the stars of the Southern Cross
-an unofficial Australian anthem Waltzing Matilda
-tells a story of a poor swagman a seasonal migrant worker
Famous people
-Mel Gibson, Russell Crowe, Paul Hogan, Kilye Minoque, Nicole Kidman